Alicia Wadington

I Couldn’t Have Gone Through My Military To Civilian Transition Without The Camaraderie

Alicia enlisted in the Army when she was 17 through a Delayed Entry Program and was 18 and a high school graduate when she left for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. She was born in New York and raised in Las Vegas.

“My father had been in the Army, and I couldn’t wait to get out of Vegas at that age; plus my college would be paid for.” Her first duty station was Heidelberg, Germany. “It was a nice duty station to spend my first three years in the military. I was Aviation Operations in the Fixed Wing Unit.”

Her second duty station was at Fort Belvoir, Virginia for three years. Alicia’s third assignment was at Fort Irwin, California near Barstow. Her fourth duty station was at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From here Alicia was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 for one year. “I went through a rough deployment. The stress of exploding I.E.Ds and nearby bombings made me always feel on edge. I also lost several friends.” Her job was to schedule flight movements, insertions, and combat resupply.“ My last duty station was at Fort Bliss, Texas. I was a Master Fitness Trainer for my unit and the division Air NCO.” In 2015 she left the military because of Reduction of Force.

She moved back to Las Vegas to be closer to her family: “I loved where I was from—there is no place like Vegas. I see it differently from when I was 18 and was eager to leave.” Her first job after the Army was with Lululemon, an athletic wear company, working there from 2015 until fall 2018.” She now works full time at SoulCycle as the assistant studio manager and is certified to teach yoga.

She joined MVP in 2017 when she attended a meeting with her former Lululemon boss for a Trauma Recovery Yoga class. “MVP was amazing. I’ve been going to MVP since 2017. I couldn’t have gone through my military to civilian transition without the camaraderie I’ve found at the weekly meetings.”

“I suffer from PTSD. At MVP meetings we’re sharing and I know I’m not the only person dealing with these things. I’m lucky to have a safe place to talk, and I’m grateful for that.”